2017 Swedish Game Developer Index Reveals Steady Growth in Exports, Boom in New Companies and Revenue

Battlerite, Stunlock Studios

Sweden takes leading stance in VR, while new studios join huge hits like Minecraft, Battlefield and Candy Crush Saga in making Sweden one of the world’s best gamedev regions.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (Sept 5, 2017) - The 2017 edition of the Swedish Game Developer Index was revealed today, showcasing data on the region's overall performance in the games industry. It turns out that the world is your audience if you're making Swedish video games, as the Index reveals that 1 in 10 players worldwide have played a game made in Sweden, with a headcount totalling in the hundreds of millions.

Sweden is a global hotspot for the games industry, both in terms of homegrown companies and foreign players opening shop. Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Bethesda and Rovio have all invested in Swedish game development, either through acquisitions or establishing their own operations. Entertainment franchises including Star Wars, Mad Max and, most recently, Avatar have come to Sweden for for their game development needs. Several game developers are also listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange in Stockholm, outperforming the index more than tenfold (171.7% increase last twelve months compared to 14.8% average across all sectors).

Startups in the games industry have also grown in Sweden, seeing a year-over-year increase of 22 percent that brings the grand total of Swedish game studios to 287. What many of those studios are working on continues to change to meet industry trends, with nearly 10 percent of all Swedish games companies now working in VR. Swedish game developers are characterized by diversity and quality, with world-leading developers working in PC, console, mobile, indie games, middleware and more.

● The majority of the companies are profitable, and the industry has reported a total profit for eight years running

● 25 percent of all revenue is being generated by medium sized companies and smaller

● Nearly half of all employment is being generated by medium sized companies and smaller

● The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the period 2006-2016 is 34 percent

● Nearly 10 percent of Swedish games companies are working on virtual reality experiences

"Sweden is blessed with great game developers, but we would hire more if we could. Now we're looking to attract new talent from overseas. Some companies have also opened offices in places like New York, Los Angeles, London and Berlin to tap into that talent pool," said Per Stromback, spokesperson for Dataspelsbranschen (Swedish Games Industry). "Sweden is constantly rated one of the best places to do business and live from top publications and developers are working even harder to make Sweden a particularly appealing place to work as they attract new games creators from across the globe."

Learn more about the games business in Sweden by downloading the full 2017 Swedish Game Developer Index.

About Swedish Game Developer IndexThe 2017 edition of the Game Developer Index will be released at NASDAQ in Stockholm on September 5, 2017. Game Developer Index is a report that summarizes Swedish game developers' activities of the past year by compiling key figures from the companies' annual reports. Swedish game development is an export industry and acts on a highly globalized market.